Two Atheist Billboards Going Up in California

September 24, 2011 By 100 Comments

Fresh off their ripping-up-photocopied-Bible-Verses publicity stunt, Bruce Gleason and the Backyard Skeptics have put up two billboards in the Orange County area.

The first one encourages readers to reject all religious superstitions (not just everyone else’s):

Good luck reading all that while you drive…

It’s reminiscent of the “Extraordinary Claims” campaign that went up in Canada last year:

The second billboard the Backyard Skeptics are putting up has a simple message on it: “Faith has no answers. It only impedes questions.”

That one is essentially a carbon copy of a billboard that went up in Brazil a couple months ago:

“Faith gives no answers. It only impedes questions.”

Unlike their previous billboards which were positive proclamations about atheism, these go directly after religious thinking. That may get them more publicity, but they’re also running the risk of saturating local media with themselves. This many events, so close together, may dilute the very message they want to get out. That’s not a huge worry — just something to consider.

It’s pretty clear, though, that the BYS have made a decision to go from positive, friendly activism to more “aggressive,” in-your-face activism. It may pay off (publicity-wise) in the short-run, but I’m curious how many potential members are backing away from their group because of the recent events.

(via Los Angeles Atheism Examiner)

***Update***: The Christian Post is already complaining about the first billboard, with the headline:

Calif. Atheist Billboards Lump Magic Underwear, Voodoo With Salvation

…

Listed underneath the proclamation are 36 different references to Christianity, other religions, and cults. Included in the list are: “Talking Snakes,” “Burning Bushes,” “Resurrection,” “Salvation,” and “Sin.”

Lumped in with the Christian references are “Voodoo,” “Magic Underwear,” “Astrology,” and “Hand of Fatima.”


Filed Under: Atheist Advertising, General 100 Comments
About Hemant Mehta

Hemant Mehta is the chair of Foundation Beyond Belief and a high school math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. He began writing the Friendly Atheist blog in 2006. His latest book is called The Young Atheist's Survival Guide.

  • http://twitter.com/TominousTone Tom Lawson

    Wow, their publicist deserves a raise.

  • Devysciple

    I think this more ‘aggressive’ approach could probably work well. Personally, I come from a Western European moderate Christian background, thus most religious people here are used to pick and choose the parts of religion that suits their needs. I guess there are many moderately religious people in the US that do the same. So while you ‘attack’ some of their core beliefs (e.g. the afterlife), you also throw in Christian themes that they themselves do not necessarily consider ‘true’ (e.g. talking snakes). So it might just be another way to get a foot in the door. Just my $0.02

  • Anonymous

    Great work to keep moving the “Overton Window” more our way.  Let them answer why salvation should not be compared with voodoo. No evidence for either.

  • Anonymous

    If you’re doing it’s not crazy. Everything else is a superstition. Typical.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Adam-Patrick/100000027906887 Adam Patrick

      Yeah, that’s pretty much what any religious believer will think. World on back of elephants? Crazy! Talking snake tricking a woman into eating magic fruit? Perfectly reasonable.

      • http://twitter.com/mmscichowski Michael Scichowski

        kinda like believe there was nothing… and then there was something? How magical is that… I mean how anti-naturalistic!

        • Abc

          there’s actually no evidence to explain what was going on before the big bang, so, personally, I don’t believe there was nothing (necessarily). But thanks for your thoughtful input.

          • Anonymous

            Given that time as we know it itself started with the Big Bang, saying that there was something “before” doesn’t make sense anyways.

            It’s also not true that there was “nothing”. Either all matter was condensed into a singularity or there was some kind of uniform quantum state.

        • Nick Andrew

          There’s a lot of evidence that the big bang occurred, and how long ago.

          Nobody but the religious believe that the universe was magicked into existence, and for their beliefs there is no evidence.

        • Nick Andrew

          There’s a lot of evidence that the big bang occurred, and how long ago.

          Nobody but the religious believe that the universe was magicked into existence, and for their beliefs there is no evidence.

        • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=23430830 Matthew Shepherd

          It’s like this specimen is knowingly ignorant to prove a point!

        • Anonymous

          It is only Christianity that claims that the universe came from nothing so we agree, it is magical thinking.

        • fromkentucky

          Not just something, but an all powerful being who created the rest of the universe from nothing, and arranged it so that people could either worship him (isn’t vanity a sin?) or spend eternity getting tortured! Isn’t that just unbelievable!?

  • Barry Pearson

    I’m in favour of a variety of themes. Let’s see what works and what doesn’t!

    Perhaps the more confrontational ones will shift the Overton Window,  allowing the less confrontational ones to be regarded as commonplace, pretty normal.

    • mark

      Thanks for mentioning the Overton Window! I was aware of the effect, but had no idea what it was called.

  • http://www.shadesthatmatter.blogspot.com asmallcontempt

    Wow, that’s some strong verbage! I wholeheartedly support this stuff, but I hope the subsequent outcry from religious folk won’t drown out the message.

    But hey! The people who will read this and be impacted will; the people who won’t be impacted…will not. Mission complete. Moving on.

  • Anonymous

    I like the Christian Post’s use of the work “anti”. Maybe a little balance would help, like maybe it was an atheists pro-reason billboard. I’d also say that Christians probably are a lot more “anti” about things than atheists are.

    • Anonymous

      How would you like the Post to respond? Would you rewrite the headline so that it was gracious to all?

      • Newavocation

        So would the Post ever refer to a Christian Pro-Life group as an Christian Anti-Abortion group? Pro is positive and Anti is negative. They would never refer to an atheist group in a positive way. 

        • Anonymous

          If the Post is Christian, then they would need to say positive things about atheists, because they are made in the Image and prevent believers from even greater idolatry and stupidity

  • Rich Wilson

    Ha!  In their last couple of stunts (bus shelter ads and bible verse ripping) The Christians were crying “They’re picking on us!  They’re not attacking any other religions!”

    ok, so now they’re equal opportunity!

  • http://www.facebook.com/gwydionfrost Daniel Parker

    To live in a world that the religious thinkers would need a blog to cheer on the individual posting of billboards, and to debate the potential impact and/or backlash from such an endeavor… that would be Paradise.

  • http://www.examiner.com/atheism-in-los-angeles/hugh-kramer Hugh Kramer

    Christian Post’s headline with its implied complaint about their sacred cows being lumped in with what they DO regard as superstition (IE: people of other faiths’ sacred cows) is an example of the ”special pleading” argument or, in other words, “my God’s better than your God.” It’s the same argument non-Christians would make about Christian superstitions; made using the same kind of logic and no more (or less) valid.

    • http://twitter.com/mmscichowski Michael Scichowski

      Sort of like an atheist claiming his faith is better than everyone else’s… hmm. Good point!

      • GentleGiant

        Ahh, another misinformed Christian trying to convince us that atheism is a religion/faith.
        Yawn, have something else to contribute that hasn’t been debunked innumerable times?

        • tjlmbklr

          My favorite Atheist quote: “If Atheism is a religion then NOT collecting stops is a hobby – or NOT smoking cigarettes is a habit”

          http://bit.ly/n52o89

          • Anonymous

             ”Health is just another disease.”

      • Hugh Kramer

        Faith is trust, hope and belief in the goodness, trustworthiness or reliability of a person, concept or entity. It can also refer to beliefs that are not based on proof. (from Wikipedia)

        Not sure what faith you’re referring to, Michael. If you mean, faith that there is/are no god/gods, it’s a conclusion but not an article of faith or a dogma. Most of us are open to being convinced otherwise if the evidence is strong enough.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=23430830 Matthew Shepherd

        Your contribution is new and informative and adds to the discussion.

      • Anonymous

        What faith do atheists have?  I’ve been an atheist all my life and I’ve never had faith in the way that believers in voodoo, God, ghosts and prayer do.

  • Annie

    I know it would be difficult to read from a moving car, but I really like the one that lists all the superstitions.  I can see someone reading the list and thinking how crazy it is that people believe such things, only to find their own religious beliefs in the mix.

    • TychaBrahe

       This is a billboard in Orange County.  If it can be seen from the 5, drivers will have plenty of time to read it.

  • Rich Wilson

    Good luck reading all that while you drive…

    They don’t need to.  The intended audience will read it on Christian Post :-)

    • Jerry Friedman

      The busy billboard is plainly legible from the sidewalk.

  • Bluebury

    Am I the only one who doesn’t get the magic underwear reference?  Any of you super-smart cats out there care to explain it to me?!

    • http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/ Hemant Mehta

      Mormonism.

      • Bluebury

        Oh good lord now I can only think of Mitt Romney  wearing silly long underwear under his nicely tailored suit. 

        • Melanieinmiami

          That just made me laugh out loud, and now I will think of the same thing every time I see him LOL

    • Johann

      For an explanation of magic underwear, see Temple Garment.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LKTF6H5YXBEGHEFMRSOESS3KWU Advent Gred

      am I the only one who doesn’t know why it lists “a Cracker” ?  what even is that?

      • Rich Wilson

        Catholicism.  Eucharist.

      • Anonymous

        “Magic crackers” would have been the better term there

        • Anonymous

          Agreed. And technically, virgin birth probably isn’t a superstition either. All you need is a qualified volunteer, a sperm donor and some kind of tube… :P

          Also, bushes are flammable, so I can be persuaded to believe in burning ones. Talking bushes on the other hand, on fire or not, are another matter.

    • http://www.spellwight.com spellwight

      Blueberry, in case that’s an honest question (my sarcasm meter is faulty) magic underwear refers to the undergarments Mormons wear all the time to protect them from… well, evil? They’re large, ugly and white. Think of wearing a full slip and boxers under EVERYTHING you wear. 

      And the cracker refers to the body of christ wafer the catholics snack on along with their blood of christ sip of wine. 

  • Anonymous

    ” I’m curious how many potential members are backing away from their group because of the recent events.”

    Probably not as many as those who are attracted by the firm stance.

  • Abc

    I sent this to the author (link at end of article).

    In your recent article (http://www.christianpost.com/news/calif-atheist-billboard-lump-magic-underwear-voodoo-with-salvation-56431/) you said:
    _______________________________________________________________
    Gleason gave examples of what he thought a “better world” would be by talking about social views contrary to what most Christians advocate or believe.

    “You wouldn’t have people withdrawing condom use from people in Africa,” he said.
    _______________________________________________________________

    I don’t believe in religion and I’m iffy on gods, but I generally have a higher opinion of Christians than many of the vocal atheists out there. But, are you telling us most Christians are in favor of withholding condoms from Africans? Because that would put me a lot farther out there on the “hate the churchies” scale. The abortion thing, I try to stay away from hot buttons like that and find the quote somewhat unfortunate, despite my being firmly pro-choice. But anyone who claims their god is opposed to a simple, harmless device that could save thousands, if not millions, of lives should be ashamed of themselves.

    I hope you misspoke.

    PS you mistakenly grouped “magic underwear” with the non-christian superstitions in the list. That’s straight from mormonism, a christian sect.

    • Anonymous

      Many don’t consider Mormons to be Christians. Of course there is also a person commenting there who doesn’t think Catholics are Christians. Business as usual in crazyland

      • Abc

        yeah, I actually googled that before I posted and got conflicting results. bottom line (for me, anyway): mormons say they are christians. the rest of them can suck on that.

    • GentleGiant

      That’s the Catholic church’s stance on condoms in Africa, so they’ve banned condoms in all health clinics they support (and, according to some sources, have also helped spread the rumour that condoms actually spread HIV).

      • Abc

        I know, but I don’t think Catholics make up “most” christians in this country. I could be wrong–haven’t checked. I apologize for my US-centric assumptions.

        • Erp

          They are the largest single denomination in the US and they are probably a majority of Christians world wide.   According to the Pew Forum, they are 23.9% of the total US population (or about 30.5% of the total Christians).  Protestants as a whole are the majority of Christians, and, Evangelical Christians just edge out on Catholics as far as numbers. 

          Also though the Catholic Church is against condoms under almost any situation; many other denominations are against them outside of marriage and they perceive their availability as encouraging sex outside of marriage so oppose easy access.

    • Abc

      On 9/25/2011 9:40 AM, Alex Murashko wrote:

      > Abc,

      > Thanks for your email. Most Christians, but more importantly what the

      > Bible teaches us, (because Christians fail all the time in actions and

      > words) is that sex outside marriage is wrong. Period. So condom use

      > outside its use with a spouse is also something to be viewed as wrong

      > and not encouraged. The ideal situation in Africa is that people come to

      > know the Lord, and realize sex outside marriage is a sin with consequences.

      >

      > Also, I did not make a mistake in lumping magic underwear with

      > non-Christian superstitions. Mormonsim is not Christianity. I recommend

      > going to AllAboutGod.com to find why this is true.

      >

      > Thanks again!

      >

      > — Alex

      thanks for your reply. I remain unconvinced.

      The perfect is the enemy of the good. Regardless of what the ideal situation may be (and I strongly disagree with you about that), preventing disease is not the same as encouraging sex. Sex will happen, despite your big, nutty book. But if you (christians) think it is more important to try and dictate your lifestyle to others than to save the lives of your fellow humans, you are illustrating the main reason many of us are so opposed to religion. I am not an expert, but to me this does not sound like what Jesus is reported to have taught. Crazies picking and choosing which parts of the bible to agree with based on their own hangups–that’s what I see.

      I could say you are not an american because americans don’t worship invisible paternalistic deities, but I would only be partially right, just as you are only partially right. Mormons say they are christians. you might not like being associated with them, but you all look like the same flavor of deluded to me.

      which is, of course, the point of the billboard.

      And, of course, I don’t expect you to agree with me. I don’t even expect you to consider the possibility I am right. That’s okay, as long as you don’t inject your mythology into government or demonize those who disagree with you. oops, too late.

    • wille

      Yes, there is a movement to stop the dispersement of condoms in Africa… After all, that is what causes people to participate in pre-marital sex. /face-palm

  • Anonymous

    How would you like people of faith to respond to these billboards?

    • Nick Andrew

      With evidence for their beliefs. Show us why a cracker is magical, or the world was created in 6 days. If they cannot show evidence for these things, stop claiming them to be true.

      • Anonymous

        I don’t see the cracker as magical and I trust the evidence for evolution and I have been grasped by something Real.

    • Anonymous

      By rejecting the superstitious and supernatural elements of their faith.

    • Jennifer A. Nolan

      By letting the billboard sponsors enjoy their freedom of expression.  Stomping on the dignity and feelings of people without our faith is a bad habit with us Christians; if these ads sting you, just remember what we could say about Bible-believing Jews just a few decades ago.  If I’m being snippy, I’m sorry, but these non-believers get enough abuse as it is.  We should have called a truce five hundren years ago; that would have stopped an enormous genocide on this continent.  Let’s pray for guidance on the need for respect for other people’s cosmologies.

      • Anonymous

        The advertisements do not  sting me at all, and I do agree that we must respect people’s cosmology! I desire what gives people a good life, here and now– and oppose anything that justifies murder, violence, or genocide.

        I do not mean any comments to be “anti atheist” or “anti anybody”. I’m very interested in the process of how we have these conversations. I’m looking for ways to talk without hostility and insult– while maintaining friendly “confrontation”(?I need help with the right word?)

        I seem to be without a home– a person who fully accepts evolution and rejects superstition while also being a Jesus  follower. I should  probably change my name from “duh” to “mutant misfit”

        • Rich Wilson

          a person who fully accepts evolution and rejects superstition while also being a Jesus  follower

          That describes a few of my friends.  In fact the evolution question isn’t even in a question in most of the world outside the US.

        • Jennifer A. Nolan

          No, forget the name change, Duh. And my views on Jesus, evolution, and superstition are a lot like yours. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: I’m sorry for being so snippy.

  • Anonymous

    What does the “friendly” part of this blogs title mean?

    To mean the word “friendly” is not much different from what I experience from “friendly” Christians.

    • Rich Wilson

      Friendly doesn’t mean dishonest.

      • Anonymous

        I have read mean, nasty things in Christian blogs, claiming to be “friendly.” Here is an atheist blog and, at times, I find meanness here too. The pattern I see, common to both, as if they were enemy twins or mimetic rivals, is that “being right” gives the “right” to be mean. From the Christian side, my disappointment has to do with not being Chrst like. With this site, which is excellent, my sadness is that it is not always “friendly”

        I am trying to be honest, in a kind way

        I also try to hold my worldview with humility, not arrogance

        • Stc

          Your concern trolling has been noted. try again.

          No one is going to be perfectly sweet to everyone, as niceness is an opinion- I haven’t seen Hemant be unfriendly so far.

          • Anonymous

            If you receive my comments as trolling, then I have a failure on my part, and I apologize. I do not intend to be a troll.

        • Anonymous

          Hemant is the friendly one. Not the posters in the comments. And even he admitted that he has become somewhat more confrontational over time. Still, you won’t see him outright insulting believers just for the sake of it

          • Anonymous

            Thanks for the distinction between confrontation and insult. 

        • Rich Wilson

          Questioning the ‘Friendly’ in the name is a meme around here.  And in my opinion it indicates that the person asking the question is wearing privilege goggles.  It’s not so much that anything is unfriendly (although sometimes it is) as that religion is such an integral part of our society that any question of religion leads to a disturbance in the force.  Something just isn’t right, and we scramble around to make things comfortable again.  Try re-wording the statement you see as unfriendly to refer to something else.  That can be hard to do with the goggles on, but try.  Is it still unfriendly?  Is it only unfriendly because the target is a sacred cow?

          • Anonymous

            Are you telling me to “take the log out of my own eye before I take the speck out of my neighbor’s eye”? ;) All right, I will work on my “googles”. 

            What I’m learning by wading in here is that I need to worried about my fellow people of faith and their friendly/hostility issues. Most of the time I read “Christian blogs” and they can become hostile. I long for more “friendliness” there. And I hope to make friends here.

            Again, I apologize if I’m sounding like a troll

          • Anonymous

            Are you telling me to “take the log out of my own eye before I take the speck out of my neighbor’s eye”? ;) All right, I will work on my “googles”. 

            What I’m learning by wading in here is that I need to worried about my fellow people of faith and their friendly/hostility issues. Most of the time I read “Christian blogs” and they can become hostile. I long for more “friendliness” there. And I hope to make friends here.

            Again, I apologize if I’m sounding like a troll

            • Rich Wilson

              “take the log out of my own eye before I take the speck out of my neighbor’s eye”

              Nope, that’s not what I’m saying.  That would be closer to “he who is without sin throw the first stone”.  I’m not talking about the relative friendliness or animosity of either group.
              What I’m saying is that often people see religious criticism as offensive, when the same criticism of any other topic would not be considered offensive.

            • Jennifer A. Nolan

              Please read this comment again, and try on Rick’s suggested excercises for size.  It might open some doors.  Make it a little role-playing game: “Devil’s Advocate.”

              • Anonymous

                Did you see my thanks to him for his suggestion? Yes, I will work on taking the “log out of my eye”. It seems my words have been taken as “anti atheist.” I do not intend that at all. For that, I apologize. Again. 

                • Jennifer A. Nolan

                  I accept your apology, and I extend an apology in return. You are gentle, no matter what you mean to say, and I didn’t have to be quite so snippy. Thank you for your reply.

          • Anonymous

            My goal is to learn something from this conversation.

            I do want to clarify that I do not believe in any “god of the gaps” (= superstition, supernatural, fill-in-the-blank when “explanations” fail God).

            I hope to do better in the future in sharing at this site. So for now, I’ll just try to listen.

    • Jennifer A. Nolan

      Do you think the original post is unfriendly?

      • Anonymous

        Excellent question! Here is my quibble. There are people of faith who fully accept evolution. We are not all “Christian Post” Christians. If it came to siding with the “friendly atheist” or the “Christian Post,” you might be surprised who I feel more at home with. 

        • http://annainca.blogspot.com/ Anna

          Yes, there are millions of religious people who fully accept evolution. But there are many more who do not. I don’t think it’s unfair for Friendly Atheist to acknowledge this. We live in a country where only 39% of the people say they believe in evolution.

          http://www.gallup.com/poll/114544/Darwin-Birthday-Believe-Evolution.aspx

          • Anonymous

            All  very true.

        • Jennifer A. Nolan

          I don’t know what the “Christian Post” is; I imagine it’s a hardshell fundamentalist outfit. I don’t explore the religious blogosphere as deeply as you do. I’m glad you’re bothering to hear what atheists have to say with so much respect, and I’m sorry I wrote to you so rudely; my bad!

  • Anonymous

    “Calif. Atheist Billboards Lump Magic Underwear, Voodoo With Salvation”

    Accurate. Perhaps the point even.  

    • Nick Andrew

      I can hear the pearl-clutching! Oh no, those nasty atheists said our most holy sacraments are like magic and voodoo!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jared-Elick/100000649334420 Jared Elick

      I could write an article with the opposite point to theirs, and use the same title.

  • http://profiles.google.com/tychabrahe Lauren Eve Pomerantz

    Several years ago there was a similar design proposed as a t-shirt by members of the healthfraud mailing list, although theirs focused more on things like acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, and Therapeutic Touch.  A red anti circle was put over it with the word “Bullshit.”

  • http://profiles.google.com/tychabrahe Lauren Eve Pomerantz

    Several years ago there was a similar design proposed as a t-shirt by members of the healthfraud mailing list, although theirs focused more on things like acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, and Therapeutic Touch.  A red anti circle was put over it with the word “Bullshit.”

  • TychaBrahe

    Several years ago there was a similar design proposed as a t-shirt by members of the healthfraud mailing list, although theirs focused more on things like acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, and Therapeutic Touch.  A red anti circle was put over it with the word “Bullshit.” 

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/FDGYHBEWVNGUG763L5X4TON3JQ Nazani14

    Two billboards in one county = saturation???
    How many billboards and other public displays touting religion are there?

  • Deadbob1013

    If ths superstious are sure in their faith, why should they care?

    • Nick Andrew

      They are accustomed to the privilege it receives. In the USA, Christianity soaks into everything and doesn’t want to let go. It’s on your money, it’s in your pledge – the “God” referred to is not Vishnu. It influences your public policy (stem cell research) and government (Rick Perry’s prayer event). Christianity is a major part of the Tea Party platform (Palin, Bachmann). Churches are tax-exempt. Big Media promotes the Christian line (Glenn Beck). Creationism is in a continual fight to insinuate itself into your schools (Texas), and Christianity into school events (graduation prayers, B-SHOC concert, prayers at football matches). Evangelical Christianity is in your military, getting funding for proselytising and influencing (if not actually dictating) policy.

  • http://atheistlutheran.blogspot.com Marguerite

    “Faith has no answers. It only impedes questions” makes me think of one of my favorite quotes from Robert A. Heinlein: “Belief gets in the way of learning.”

  • Anonymous

    Neutrinos may possibly travel faster that the speed of light. I am open to mystery and Mystery

    • http://religiouscomics.net/ Jeff P

      The nice thing about science is that we form theories that explain nature.  These theories are accepted as long as they are backed up by good evidence.  If contracting evidence can be presented, then we are forced to modify and update our theories. 
       
      You can bet that some very good minds will be looking very hard at these neutrino experiments. 
       
      Religion, though, does not work like this.  A proposition is believed and all thought is then filtered through a lens formed by that proposition.

    • Anonymous

      If neutrinos were religious dogma, the current understanding of relativity or neutrinos could not be changed. Inquiry into it would be heavily discouraged. Hundreds of years ago those scientists would have been burned at the stake

      • Anonymous

        As a believer, I’m also open to change– new readings, new interpretations,  new ways of seeing things. In particular, I’m open to new, more loving, more forgiving, more gracious, more inclusive, must just, more sustainable ways of looking at life. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

  • Anonymous

    I love, LOVE that the Christian Post is actually putting things like voodoo in a “crazy” category,but then they put “talking snakes” in a sort of “well of course it’s true, totally reasonable!” category.

    It cracks me up. Talking snakes! They’re actually saying, with a straight face, “How dare they lump my talking snakes in with crazy stuff like magic underwear?!”

  • Guest

    Dear Christians complaining about being ‘lumped in’ with other crazy things:

    We will stop lumping your beliefs in with crazy nonsense when you can prove to us there’s a difference.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EAIHLUU3JSTIB3D2OWHGYN5PHA Ingen

    Is “flat Earth” really such an extraordinary claim comparable to talking serpents? Isn’t it a natural assumption to make when you look around?

    Sure, it’s wrong, but it’s wrong due to evidence, not LACK of evidence. The fact that the Earth is round is the extraordinary claim (with extraordinary evidence to back it up).

    • Anonymous

      Not really. You can see the curvature of the Earth on very flat surfaces. Especially out at sea. Sailors knew that the Earth was round a long, long time ago. It’s also obvious from astronomic observations

      For example when you sail towards land, you’ll see mountains first and then the shore. When a ship appears on the horizon, you’ll see its mast first

  • JustAGuy

    Every time one of the traditional atheist billboards go up, Christians claim it is aggressive and offensive.  This illustrates what aggressive can look like.